Biden, who has done a string of recent interviews speaking about his father’s legacy and his own struggles with drug addiction, said it was “beyond a doubt” that Donald Trump and Epstein were “very close friends”.
“They spent an enormous time together. According to [Trump’s] biographer, Jeffrey Epstein introduced Melania,” Biden said. “That’s how… the First Lady and the President met. Yeah, according to Michael Wolff.”
Wolff, an author who was given access to the White House during Trump’s first term, has written four books about the President.
He made the claims about the First Lady’s links to the disgraced financier in an episode of The Daily Beast podcast that aired on July 26.
The news outlet also published an article on Wolff’s claim, but retracted it and issued an apology after Melania Trump’s attorney contacted the publication.
“The Beast received a letter from First Lady Melania Trump’s attorney challenging the headline and framing of the article. After reviewing the matter, the Beast has taken down the article and apologises for any confusion or misunderstanding,” the publication wrote.
Trump’s letter accused Biden of further disseminating the claims made by Wolff and causing the First Lady to suffer “overwhelming financial and reputational harm” as a result.
“These false, disparaging, defamatory, and inflammatory statements are extremely salacious and have been widely disseminated throughout various digital mediums,” the letter read.
It also claimed the timing of Biden’s comments was malicious.
It comes as the Trump administration has come under scrutiny for its failure to release the Epstein Files.
The President is facing scrutiny about his personal connections to Epstein after the FBI and Department of Justice concluded last month the wealthy sex offender died by suicide and did not possess a “client list”.
The ruling contradicted a conspiracy theory widely maintained among Maga supporters that Epstein was murdered by powerful associates to cover up for their crimes.
“The timing of this video is evident and underscores the actual malice behind the decision to publish it given the plain falsity of the statements,” the letter read.
It demanded that Biden “immediately issue a full and fair retraction of the video” and “immediately issue an apology for the false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading, and inflammatory statements about Mrs Trump”.
Biden was given until 5pm on August 7 to comply with the letter.
A source close to the matter told Fox News that he failed to meet the deadline.
Representatives for Melania Trump and Biden were approached for comment.
